06 August 2007

'morning

As I said, we had guests during July! This meant that B and I had to actually sit down and plan meals. We've got the lunch and dinner thang down for the moment, but what's for breakfast? Normally, we're pretty low-key on this front: just coffee, oatmeal, or, for a change, Pillsbury orange sweet rolls (growing up, we had these every Christmas morning). When family and friends are visiting, however, something a little more special is in order. As you will see, these recipes are definitely not low-calorie, and they are really, really good. "Serves" information is approximate, of course. How do they come up with that anyway?

Swedish Baked Pancake(serves 4)

4 tablespoons butter2 eggs1/2 cup flour1/2 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Melt butter in ovenproof skillet. Whisk eggs, flour, and milk together in small bowl. Pour into skillet on top of melted butter and bake for 15-20 minutes. Pancake will puff up beautifully and brown nicely on the bottom (although it may not be brown on top). Cut into four wedges and serve with syrup or confectioners sugar and jam.(from an excellent Web site to which I used to belong and probably should still belong, cheapskatemonthly.com, but originally probably from an article in The New York Times)

Pecan Waffles with Sautéed Bananas and Cinnamon Honey(serves 8–10; actually, if you double the recipe, it serves 8–10 maybe)

Keep in mind that these waffles will cook a little bit faster than a flour waffle because of the honey in the batter. If you don’t have a waffle iron, try using the batter for pancakes. Top with toasted chopped pecans, if desired.

Preheat a waffle iron according to the manufacturer’s directions. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. In a food processor, pulverize the pecans until finely ground. Add the eggs, butter, honey, vanilla, baking soda, and salt, and blend well. Grease the waffle iron with oil or butter (I used a pastry brush to brush a little vegetable oil on the iron). Add 1/4 cup batter and cook for a few minutes, until golden brown. Set cooked waffles right on the oven rack to crisp up and keep warm while you cook more.

For the bananas, melt the butter with the oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Add the bananas and cook for about 6 minutes, turning once, until golden brown. Set aside. Mix the honey and cinnamon until well blended.

To serve, place the waffles on warmed plates, top with the bananas and honey, and serve.(from a great cookbook recommended by my friend Gina at the office: Kendall Conrad's Eat Well, Feel Well, a collection of recipes geared toward people on the Specific Carbohydrate Diet)

Butter a 9x13-inch baking dish. Arrange the slices of bread in the bottom. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, milk, cream, vanilla, and cinnamon. Pour over bread slices, cover, and refrigerate overnight. (You may end up with more liquid than you need or the pan will accept; the last time I made this I cut down on the milk and half and half somewhat.)

The next morning, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a small saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar, and corn or maple syrup and heat until bubbling. Pour over bread and egg mixture. Bake in preheated oven, uncovered, for 40 minutes.(from allrecipes.com)

1 comment:

I must say that I have actually tasted these pecan waffles - in fact, I had to beg J for the recipe - and they are phenomenal! I will need to try out the other recipes here. If they are anywhere close to the waffles, they are all winners!